TDP-Jana Sena sound poll bugle at joint rally by Naidu-Pawan Kalyan
Polipali (Vizianagaram district): This nondescript village in Bhogapuram mandal of Vizianagaram district turned into a beehive of activity as a sea of humanity thronged a 50-acre private layout here on Wednesday as Telugu Desam Party national president N Chandrababu Naidu and Jana Sena president and filmstar Pawan Kalyan attended the 'Yuva Galam Navaskaram' meeting to mark the conclusion of TDP general secretary Nara Lokesh's mega walkathon from Kuppam in Chittoor district to Visakhapatnam.
Supporters of TDP-JSP alliance greeted key leaders attending ‘Yuva Galam Navaskaram' meeting lustily. Amid loud cheers and bursting of crackers and intermittent performances by folk artists were the highlights. Huge banners and cutouts of Naidu and Kalyan adorned the spacious venue. The alliance leaders sounded poll bugle at the power-packed meeting.
Incidentally, this was the first meeting addressed jointly by Naidu and Kalyan. For the TDP national president, this also happened to be the first major political rally after his release from jail. A large number of people from North Andhra attended.
Lokesh had to cut short his Yuva Galam at Visakhapatnam due to fast approaching elections. He decided not to undertake the padayatra in Srikakulam and Vizianagaram districts and conclude at Ichapuram on the border of Odisha and Andhra Pradesh as per the original schedule. During the yatra, flagged off on January 27 at Kuppam, the home turf of Naidu, Lokesh covered a distance of 3,132 km over 226 days. His yatra touched 100 Assembly segments in 11 undivided districts interacting with an estimated 1.5 crore people during the wayside meetings and public rallies. Lokesh had to suspend the padayatra for nearly two months on September 9 following the arrest of his father in the skill development corporation fund misutilisation case.
Lokesh, who concluded the yatra at Shivaji Nagar near Kurmannapalem gate in Visakhapatnam also unveiled a pylon to mark the end of the walkathon at the place where Naidu had ended his 'Vastunna Meekosam' padayatra in 2013.
